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Since the uprising began last March, he has blamed armed gangs and foreign terrorists for the unrest, not protesters seeking change.

The UN says more than 7,500 people have been killed since Syria's uprising began. Activists put the death toll at more than 8,000.

Despite the growing bloodshed, President Barack Obama said yesterday that unilateral U.S. military action against Assad's regime would be a mistake.

Confiscated: This picture shows weapons seized by Syrian troops as they continue their crackdown in the rebel stronghold of Homs

Happy: Syrian soldiers take time out from bombing civilians to dance with government supporters in front of a portrait of Bashar Assad

The United States said it is proposing a new United Nations Security Council resolution demanding an end to violence in Syria, first by government forces and then by opposition fighters.

Russia and China, powerful Syrian allies that have blocked a Security Council resolution against Syria, have made clear they were still standing by the regime in Damascus.

Still, in a sign of China's growing alarm, Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming said Beijing was pulling its workers out of Syria because of the violence.

'I can tell you most Chinese workers have been withdrawn from that country to China,' he told a news conference today.

'There are only about 100 people left there taking care of projects, assets and property. We will wait until the local situation stabilises. We will go back to Syria and restart those projects.'

Abandoned: Families forced to flee from Homs to eastern Lebanon have recounted the scene in their former home

Carnage: Around 60 civilians have been killed as troops loyal to President Bashar Assad bombed bridges to stop them from fleeing to safety across the border to Lebanon

Obama has resisted calls to step into the turmoil in Syria to stop Assad's bloody crackdown on protesters. He told a news conference yesterday that the international community has not been able to muster a campaign against Syria like the one in Libya that ousted Muammar Gaddafi last year.

'For us to take military action unilaterally, as some have suggested, or to think that somehow there is some simple solution, I think is a mistake,' Obama said.

'What happened in Libya was we mobilised the international community, had a UN Security Council mandate, had the full co-operation of the region, Arab states, and we knew that we could execute very effectively in a relatively short period of time. This is a much more complicated situation.'

Advice: The Free Syrian Army advised residents to flee Homs when the Syrian army blew up a 2mile tunnel they had used to smuggle in essentials keeping them alive

Another death: Image grabs from YouTube show Syrian mourners carrying the body of a rebel killed during the crackdown

Obama's strategy has been to use sanctions and international diplomatic isolation to pressure Assad into handing over power.

The top U.S. commander in the Middle East said the advanced air defence weapons Russia has provided to Syria would make it difficult to establish a no-fly zone there as part of an effort to help the rebellion.

Marine General James Mattis, head of U.S. Central Command, told the Senate Armed Services Committee it would take a significant military commitment even to create safe havens in Syria where aid could be delivered, as McCain suggested.

Play time: Boys hold up toy guns in Hula, near Homs, as the crackdown on the year-long uprising against Assad continues

Keeping warm: Children surround a fire in Idlib, northern Syria

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Syrian uprising: Obama rules out military action and Assad vows to continue crackdown